OUR long national nightmare could be over, now that we’ve probably seen the last original episode of “Jon & Kate Plus 8.”

Monday night’s “Jon & Kate,” which featured an hourlong question-and-answer session with mom Kate Gosselin, is the last fresh episode of the series before it goes into reruns next month.

TLC basically ran out of original footage after Jon Gosselin barred the network from filming his eight kids for the reality show, now in its fifth season and on life support in the wake of Jon and Kate’s ugly, bitter divorce.

On Monday’s episode, Kate gave some read-between-the-lines comments in closing the show when asked by a viewer if she wanted to “set the record straight” about the reality show.

“So whether the wind blows and certain opinions change, I’m just sad to see it go, to be honest,” she said, “because I feel like the kids are going to miss out on things in the future.”

Ironically, Monday’s episode pulled in 3 million viewers, the show’s best numbers in nine weeks dating back to early August.

But, at this point, no one knows if the show–which had supposedly been renamed “Kate Plus 8” to reflect its future episodes –will ever resurface in any form after the repeats air next month.

“This is the last episode for which we have completed filming,” a TLC spokeswoman said yesterday. “We remain suspended.”

It’s believed that, behind the scenes, neither the network nor Kate are pushing Jon to rescind his ban on filming the kids.

And, until that is resolved — one way or another — the show remains in flux as the bickering couple grapple with other legal issues related to their impending divorce.

For now, TLC will air “J&K” repeats for the next three weeks: “Top Moments” (Nov. 9); “Gymnastics and Baseball”/”Never Before Seen” (Nov. 16); and “It’s a Crazy Life, But It’s Our Life” (Nov. 23).

The Nov. 2 episode airing on TLC won’t be called “Jon & Kate” or even “Kate Plus 8.”

In a head-scratching move, NBC’s Natalie Morales will interview Kate Gosselin for a one-hour TLC special, “Kate: Her Story.”

After that, it’s not known what will air in the “J&K” timeslot.

Kate, however, is keeping busy. She said on Monday’s show that she wants to act, and she’s made no secret of her desire to continue a TV career. She’s also shot a talk-show pilot helmed by Food Network’s Paula Deen.

She has another project in the hopper at TLC that’s scheduled to bow sometime next year.